Machine dishwashing formulations containing alkali metal acetal carboxylate polymers

ABSTRACT

Machine dishwashing formulations typically contain a low-foaming surfactant, a chlorine source and an alkali metal tripolyphosphate. Because of recent emphasis in removing phosphates from cleaning formulations, those skilled in the art have been interested in finding a substitute for some or all of the alkali metal tripolyphosphate in machine dishwashing formulations. Now there is provided a machine dishwashing formulation comprising (A) from 0.5 to 5 percent by weight of a surfactant selected from the group consisting of low-foaming anionic and nonionic surfactants and mixtures thereof, (B) an active chlorine-providing material selected from the group consisting of potassium dichlorocyanurate, sodium dichlorocyanurate, [(mono-trichloro)tetra-(monopotassiumdichloro)]pentaisocyanurate, (mono-trichloro)(mono-potassiumdichloro)diisocyanurate and chlorinated trisodium phosphate, said active chlorine-providing material constituting from 10 to 30 percent by weight of the formulation when said material is chlorinated triisosodium phosphate and from 0.5 to 5 percent of the formulation when said material is a chlorocyanurate, and (C) from 20 to 90 percent of a polymer having the following general formula: ##STR1## wherein Y is a comonomer selected from the group consisting of: ##STR2## and mixtures thereof randomly distributed in the polymer; q is at least 1 and the product of q and n is at least 4; p is 0 to a whole number up to about 2; R 1  and R 2  are individually any chemically stable group which stabilize the polymer against rapid depolymerization in alkaline solution; R 3  is hydrogen or an alkyl group having up to about 20 carbon atoms; and M is an alkali metal. 
     In the preferred embodiment, the product of q and n will equal about 50, p is 0 and R 1  and R 2  are chemically stable groups derived from ethylvinyl ether and M is sodium.



